Marcel Dzama (b. 1974, Canada) is internationally recognized for his dreamlike drawings and watercolors that merge folk aesthetics, surrealist imagery, and psychological narratives. His universe of masked figures, animals, and fantastical hybrids draws from fairy tales, mythology, and political allegory — balancing innocence and menace in equal measure.
Dzama first exhibited at Stalke Galleri in the late 1990s as part of the group exhibition On Paper (1999), which introduced a new generation of artists exploring drawing as a conceptual and expressive field. He returned to Stalke in 2003 for the major group show "New Paperworks", featuring artists Dame Darcy, Neil Farber, Jacquelyn Tough, and Dzama himself. These exhibitions positioned his work within a broader Nordic and international dialogue around narrative figuration and the resurgence of works on paper.
Today, Dzama’s works are represented by David Zwirner and included in major museum collections such as MoMA, Tate, and the National Gallery of Canada.
Marcel Dzama, drawing from the exhibition “Works on Paper,” Stalke Galleri, 2003.